Air New Zealand celebrates the year in the air

Air New Zealand operated around 188,000 flights this year, with its
customers collectively flying 29.85 billion kilometers since January 1,
2018.

Of its most frequent flyers, an Auckland based customer flew a
whopping 639,000 kilometers in 2018 – the equivalent to 15 circuits of
the earth – making them Air New Zealand’s farthest flyer for the year.

The airline’s most frequent flyer took 371 flights in 2018, and the
top three travellers together clocked up 1.25 million kilometers in the
air– earning more than 31,000 Airpoints Dollars between them.

Keeping customers fed, watered and caffeinated on the 17 million
journeys the airline enables annually is an around-the-clock operation,
and since 1 January 2018 –

More than 6.3 million meals were served across the airline’s global
network. Malay chicken with steamed rice was the most popular main dish
in Economy class with 294,000 portions served.

Beef osso bucco with caramelised onions was the most popular of the
1.3 million New Zealand beef and lamb meals served in the air.

The most popular dish in the airline’s premium cabins was Peter
Gordon’s blackened King salmon with saffron potato mash and edamame.

The airline poured more than seven million glasses of exclusively
New Zealand wines onboard and in its lounges, with sauvignon blanc the
preferred tipple.

Air New Zealand’s expanded Kiwi beer selection proved popular, with
512,000 cans of beer served inflight – up 7.5 percent on the year prior.

Customers also munched their way through 15.3 million of Air New Zealand’s iconic lollies.

Travellers enjoyed thousands of hours of inflight entertainment, with The Greatest Showman the most viewed film on Air New Zealand flights – seen 168,500 times in the past year. Kiwi band Six60’s track Closer was the most listened to, with around 6,500 hits each month.

More customers also chose to minimise the footprint of their flights
in 2018, with close to 27,000 tons of carbon offset this calendar year.

Air New Zealand Chief Marketing and Customer Officer Mike Tod says
the airline keeps close eye daily on traveller preferences so that it
can deliver what matters most to them.

“Air New Zealand prides itself on our warm Kiwi service on the ground
and in the air. And customers continue to appreciate the taste of the
nation when they are with us, whether it be the selection of our
outstanding New Zealand wines or menus created by our award-winning
chefs Peter Gordon and Michael Meredith,” Mr Tod says.

“We’d like to thank those who have travelled with us in 2018, which
has had its fair share of challenges, as schedules have been disrupted
by the impact of issues with the Rolls Royce engines that power some of
our 787s and significant weather events around the country.”

Following the launch of direct flights to Chicago and Taipei, 2019 is
shaping up to be the airline’s biggest year yet, with Air New Zealand
expecting to fly 18 million customers in the coming 12 months.